Design Prosecution in
South Africa

The Designs
Act, 1993 provides protection to aesthetic and functional designs
through registration. Functional designs have features which are necessitated
by the function which the article to which the design is applied is
to perform and includes integrated circuit topography and mask works
related thereto. Aesthetic designs relate to designs applied to articles
of manufacture because of the pattern, shape, configuration or ornamentation
of the design which is judged solely by the eye. Aesthetic designs
must be new and original while functional designs must be new and
not commonplace.